“Russia’s military cooperation is necessary today to bolster the Syrian state, but the problem will come if there is no political investment in the future, in which case we’ll just have other battles,” the 40-year-old says.

He says he sees Syria’s conflict as a proxy war for global powers.

“The real conflict is not over Syria, but for hegemony, it is essentially a conflict between America and Russia but it is playing out today on Syrian soil.”

Other Syrians say they are unconcerned by Russia’s potential ulterior motives.